Mike Corthell

Editor & Publisher at Fryeburg Free Press MEDIA

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Comics can't handle Obama

Greg Gutfeld on Monday attacked comics for not making jokes about the current White House resident.

Appearing on Fox News's The Five, Gutfeld said, "Asking a comedian to make fun of Obama is like asking a priest to mock Christ" (video follows with transcript and absolutely no need for additional commentary):

GREG GUTFELD: So comedians and their adoring media are in a crisis: How do you make fun of Mitt Romney when you're dumb? Well, you can keep doing the rich thing like commentator Paul Begala. FYI: I hear he is playing Paul Bunyan's big toe in an upcoming bio. It's true. When comparing Mitt to Obama, Paul said Romney could buy and sell him 100 times. Glad I didn't say that.

Anyway, now hacks are comparing Mitt to Mad Men’s Don Draper. Yeah, that’s smart. Compare a Mormon family man to a hard-drinking, hard-smoking ladies' man. What is the connection here? Well, they're both good looking and successful. Clever.

And how sad is it that comics just can't get a handle on Obama even when those ears look so tempting? In the Times yesterday, Maureen Dowd chatted with Saturday Night Live over how tough political comedy is. Says Seth Meyers, “Comedy writers are incredibly promiscuous and we want as many targets as possible.” He left out the word "Republican" before targets because I don’t see much else on that show.

Look, asking a comedian to make fun of Obama is like asking a priest to mock Christ. If you look at government as religion there is only one almighty savior, and you don’t commit sacrilege – and also, you want to keep your job.

Which is why comics can only make fun of stay-at-home moms, holy men, and aborsh. Yeah, aborsh – the cute phrase Sarah Silverman coined while illustrating her fake before and after abortion pictures on Twitter. So, instead of speaking truth to power, instead mock the powerless. That’s as edgy as Paul Begala’s head.